A game for my girlfriend

Comments

I'm looking for some additional input on this one, so I figured I could come here and see what wisdom you all may impart.

INSERT LONG BACK STORY HERE (to see it skip to the end of this post.)

The other day she asked if there were any other games like that, that she might enjoy. I know she enjoyed Pokemon, and has enjoyed watching me play a few RPGs. So I'm wondering if any of you can think of any console based (PS1, PS2, Xbox, Xbox306, GameCube or Wii) RPGs(or other titles) that are somewhat simply, that she may enjoy.

I'm trying to think of something relatively simple, nothing with too many hard puzzles, and nothing that requires quick reaction times. (start slow work up I say)

Thanks for the input!

BACK STORY TIME!!!

My girlfriend and I work completely opposite hours, me a 9 - 5 type of gig, her a 2:30 - 11pm, so we only see each other on weekends. We only really have weekends to spend together. She is very understanding with my gaming habit, and lets me play while she reads, or watches the Mets or some other thing (I do very well with trying to not play while she is awake during our weekend time.)

A few months ago she asked if there were any games she might enjoy the story of. Backstory: while I was playing Rogue Galaxy for PS2 she got into making fun of the lame story, but watched it when cinematic came up, and boss fights and such to make fun of it more, all while she read on the couch next to me.

So I decided what better to go with than Final Fantasy X, good story, good graphics, etc.

If you know anything about FFX, there is a monster catching minigame later on. I've been completing this lately, for no real reason, and to my great shock, I came home one day to a note telling me one area was done because she had loaded it up, played and caught a few monster for me. She has now done this a few times, and even been playing a few of the Blitz Ball matches I'm needing to do to get Wakka his super ultimate weapon thing.

(This is kinda where you could go back up top... and it'd all make sense)

Not an RPG guy myself so I'm not much help here at all. The only thing that springs to mind is Kingdom Hearts, seemed to get good reviews and should be one of the easier RPGs. Of course it's also Disney based so depends on if you can get your mind past that. ;)

Edit: Was trying to think of another game I'd heard has a good story but couldn't think of it's name. Just remembered it: Ico. But again, havn't actually played it since it was just on PS2. ;)

Kingdom Hearts is pretty simple, but it's more of an action game than an RPG, so it sounds like that's out. Ico is excellent, but kinda complicated, lots of puzzles and such.

You may have already thought of this, but why not some of the earlier, simpler FF games? 6 is great, and it's dirt cheap for the PS1 these days. Comes as part of Anthology along with 5. There's also Origins, which is 1 and 2 packed together, and those are about as simple as an RPG gets.

What might be perfect though is picking up Shining Force for the Wii virtual console. It was a turn based RPG for the Genesis. No reaction times needed since it's turn based, and it's just a simple, fun little game. The graphics are pretty dated though :)

XenoGears: PS1 - Deep storyline with well developed characters, involving religious undertones, metaphysics, and the idea of self.

XenoSaga 1-3: PS2 - The "prequel" to XenoGears. Original development team left Square to establish Monolith, and sold their ideas to Namco. The story isn't directly related but has many of the same ideas, and continues in the same universe with small changes to avoid lawsuits. Cut-scenes are immersive and the game honestly turns into a movie at times.

Legend of Mana: PS1 - A vibrantly colored hack and slash based around small mini-quests with a cool crafting system for armor, weapons, instruments (spells), and a monster raising farm. End game EX mode, and the ability to fight another person in the arena.

Star Ocean the Second Story: PS1 - Probably your best bet, over 80 different endings, and the option to choose two different main characters with intertwining stories and story differences. Well developed, easy gameplay.

The Legend of Musashi: PS1- Very cool, very fun Kingdom Hearts style game with excellent gameplay. Hard to find, easy to love.

Breath of Fire III: PS1 - Colorful, well made ATB Final Fantasy system that connects well with it's predecessors.

I'd suggest the Grandia series (Grandia for PS1, Grandia 2 for Dreamcast/PC/PS2, Grandia 3 for PS2), especially if she enjoys poking fun at games. The reason why is all three entries into the series have a few things in common, one of which is that they start off strong with plot and character development, sucking the player into a rich tapestry of a story, then get completely bat-shit loco towards the end, as if the writers go mad from over-exertion.

This series also has some pretty nifty combat, which is slightly more tactical than the usual line-of-heroes vs line-of-monsters combat in a lot of CRPGs, but nothing overly intense or time consuming (like a game with "Tactics" in the title). It's pretty easy to get the hang of and has a lot of satisfying though un-twitchy action. It's timer-based, with interrupts and some simultaneous actions, gratuitous big flashy powers, in a 2D field, and remarkably straightforward controls.